Last night I spoke at a local WordPress event that begged the question, “Can I be a Web Design Speaker?”. The group was called the West Metro Detroit WordPress Meetup and the topic was “Show and Tell”. The subject revolved around showing off what you’ve been working on lately. It was hosted by Deborah Edwards-Onoro of Lireo Designs. It was a nice small gathering that took place at the Grand Traverse Pie Company. I went to speak about my experience having a design published in .net magazine for their monthly “Design Challenge” article. Speaking has always made me nervous as an introvert. However, location seemed like a relaxed place and I was pleased to have only a small group to speak too. The larger the group, the more nervous I get about speaking so I was in my comfort zone there.
If you know me, then you probably have already heard me talk on and on about this thing, but believe it or not there are people who haven’t heard about it yet! I’ve told the story so many times, that it feels like I’m telling it for the first time, every time for someone who hasn’t listened yet. Even though it was only for about 20 minutes with lots of good questions, it felt like I was good at being a web design speaker. The back and forth question they asked were easy knowing I took the consideration for a lot of things in my design. The design choices, font choices, layout choices, overall user experience; I answered them all without hesitation. Why? Because I took thought into every aspect of my design knowing it was going out internationally.
What made me think I could even be a web design speaker?
Earlier that day, I saw a post about a call for speakers at WordCamp Detroit. I shared my interest with the group that I was looking to come up with a topic for it. Could I be a web design speaker? I love web design and I sure had a fun time talking about my experience and sharing it with the group. The group came up with some good ideas based on what I talked about that night. That idea is first and foremost, but I wonder if there is anything else I could talk about.
All day today I though about potential ideas that focused around web design. I have been to a few WordCamps in the past, so I know there is a lack of design tracks. As a web designer, it always bummed me out not seeing a good topic that is both design AND related to WordPress. I’ll be coming up with a few topics and I’m building up the confidence to speak at WordCamp Detroit.
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Cliff Nowicki is a Web Designer that has a YouTube Channel to share his knowledge and provide value to other designers. Cliff also takes on freelance work, so make sure to contact him if you have a project in mind.